Come Home to Florida Keys - A Brief Introduction to Major Keys

Florida Keys is an island chain in US composed of coral and limestone. The islands (they are known as Keys) curve southwestward for about 355 km from Virginia Key in the Atlantic Ocean to Loggerhead Key of the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico. The Keys and the mainland are surrounded by Biscayne and Florida bays.

The Florida Keys are home to a wide variety of plant and animal life. The Keys are roughly divided into – Upper Keys, Key West and Lower Keys; all are famous for beach recreation activities. Many of the keys fall within the boundaries of Biscayne National Park, Everglades National Park and Dry Tortugas National Park.

Juan Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer, first visited Florida Keys in 1513. The keys were originally inhabited by Native Calusa and Tequesta. Settlers, mainly fishing and salvaging shipwrecks, arrived about 1822. And by 1890s the economic activities flourished in the area.

Of all the Keys, Key West is the most populous and developed. The Overseas Highway connects the main islands. It is one of the longest over-water roads in the world, with 42 bridges, including one spanning 11 km.

Key Largo is the largest of the Keys; it is about 50 km long. The first undersea park in the US, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (40 km long and 5 km wide) is a major attraction of Key Largo.

Islamorada, another Key on Upper Matecumbe Key, has a monument to World War I veterans and victims of the 1935 hurricane. Long Key State Park (on Long Key), a fun park is located just southwest of Islamorada.

The main town of the middle keys is Marathon, a centre of extensive resort development. There is the Museum of Natural History of the Florida Keys and a dolphin research centre nearby. Bahia Honda State Park on Bahia Honda Key has much beach recreation facilities, it features a large area of tropical palms.

The Lower Keys is famous for the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge. Big Pine Key (largest of the lower keys) is a refuge for the tiny key deer and has unusual displays of cacti.